Death in Venice

It takes Aschenbach two weeks to organize his affairs sufficiently to leave Munich. He plans to spend a month in this environment that is conveniently close at hand but sufficiently foreign to satiate his wanderlust. He takes a train to Triest and then on to a resort in Pola, a popular island off the Istrian coast in the Adriatic. However, he is dissatisfied with the lack of sandy beaches, the cold rainy weather, and the exclusively provincial Austrian clientele. He leaves after a little over a week, following an instinctive pull that he realizes is leading him to Venice. He travels to Venice on a dilapidated ship which also carries a group of boisterous young clerks. As he observes their cheerful antics, Aschenbach notes with a frisson of repugnance that the most outspoken member of the group is significantly older than his companions. The old man wears flamboyant fashion, a wig, and makeup, none of which conceal his advanced age. Aschenbach wonders that the young men are willing to treat the interloper as one of them and feels unwell. As the ship pulls away into the open sea, his vision distorts as he’s overcome with a feeling of estrangement and alienation as though he is underwater. He rests uneasily and keeps expecting the gray weather to brighten as they approach Venice since he’s only ever seen the city in bright sunlight. The weather stays drizzly even as they pull into the lagoon which fronts Venice to await approval from the health department and customs officers.

Aschenbach is horrified to see that the elderly man’s constitution is unequal to the drunken revelry of his younger companions, and the man is extremely intoxicated. Aschenbach watches as the old man banters and flirts with his companions, too drunk to stand independently, and feels as though the world around him is distorting grotesquely. As their ship docks and Aschenbach tries to depart along with his luggage, the old man stops him with garbled well-wishes and farewells. A deeply uneasy Aschenbach can only escape when the old man is interrupted by his false teeth falling loose. Aschenbach takes a gondola to the city, noting the similarities between the boat and a coffin, but enjoying the comfort of it, nonetheless. On previous visits, he had approached Venice by land, but as the city comes strikingly into focus over the water, he decides that it should only ever be approached from the “front” by boat. Poets have long since immortalized the city in song and art, and Aschenbach wonders if he too might discover some new emotional adventure while there.

Aschenbach realizes that the gondolier is taking him to the Lido rather than the steamer dock he requested, but when he attempts to protest, the brutal and insolent man refuses to change his trajectory since the dock will not process Aschenbach’s luggage. There is nothing that Aschenbach can do despite resenting the man’s presumption, so he resolves to rest and enjoy the ride. He leaves the gondolier at the dock to procure some small change to pay him, only to discover upon his return that the gondolier is unlicensed and has fled rather than risk confrontation with authorities. Aschenbach checks into a hotel on the seafront, glad to be settled near Venice but feeling uneasy because the disconcerting elements of his journey have been heightened by his loneliness.

Aschenbach takes tea downstairs, goes for a walk, and dresses for dinner. He reads a paper as he waits in the lobby for the dining room to open, noting that the hotel has guests from across Europe speaking a wide range of languages. He pays particular notice to a small Polish family consisting of three teen girls dressed with excessive modesty, a governess, and a boy in his early teens. The boy, who Aschenbach would later discover is named Tadzio, is exceptionally beautiful. He has pale skin and golden hair, and he is wearing a handsome sailor suit. Aschenbach is entranced and fascinated with him, considering him akin to a work of art. The Polish family enters the dining room only after the children’s mother arrives, Tadzio briefly meeting Aschenbach’s eyes as he leaves. Aschenbach is touched and deeply affected, regretting that his table ends up being far from the Polish family’s. That night he sleeps heavily and dreamfully.

The following day Aschenbach is saddened by the heavy air and foul smell of the lagoon. He wonders if the climate will make him unwell as it did on his last visit and if he should end his vacation early. He is cheered and charmed to see Tadzio at breakfast, the boy joining his family late and sleep-rumpled. Aschenbach passes the day on the beach along with many of the other hotel patrons, including a cheerful Russian family and Tadzio’s Polish family. Tadzio glares at the Russians with nationalistic loathing, moving Aschenbach with this display of personality. Tadzio plays with a group of other children, and from their shouts, Aschenbach can discern his name. Aschenbach snacks on strawberries, admiring Tadzio’s beauty as he watches Tadzio and his companions build a sandcastle. He notices that the boy is extremely popular with his peers and that his closest companion is a boy named Jaschu. Whether Tadzio is swimming, playing, or lying in the sand, Aschenbach remains constantly aware of him with an affection that he currently mistakes as paternal.

Tadzio and Aschenbach share an elevator ride after lunch and, seeing Tadzio’s imperfect teeth as a sign of ill health, Aschenbach is gratified at the thought that Tadzio will likely die before growing old. Aschenbach ventures into the city of Venice that afternoon and is badly affected by the heat and stink of the streets under the heavy sirocco. Feeling faint and dizzy, his blood pounding, he resolves to leave Venice forever since his constitution is clearly not equal to enduring the climate. He returns to the hotel and organizes his departure for the following morning. Daybreak sees him regretting his hasty decision to flee, but he nonetheless follows through with his plans, albeit reluctantly. He lingers over breakfast long enough that he must arrange his transport to the station rather than take that which is organized by the hotel, and he passes Tadzio in the doorway as he leaves. Saying a silent farewell to the boy, Aschenbach feels real grief and regret which only grows as he makes his way to the station.

Once he arrives at the station, he is secretly delighted to learn that his luggage—sent ahead with the hotel porter—has already departed on the incorrect train. Aschenbach takes the opportunity to cancel his plans of departure and return to the hotel to await the return of his luggage. He settles back into a nearly identical new room at the hotel and, looking out the window, observes Tadzio returning from the beach. In his joy at seeing Tadzio again, he realizes without consternation or shame that Tadzio is the reason he did not want to leave.